Berkeley County man charged with stealing, burning cars

November 09, 2009|By DAVE McMILLION

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Police said they "worked half the night" early Saturday morning responding to four car thefts, three of which involved the cars being burned, according to a Berkeley County Sheriff's Department press release.

A lucky break came from a witness who said a person matching a description of the suspect ran into a small camper in the Needmore Road area. Deputies found a man identified as David Lee Gregory, 20, of Needmore Road.

Gregory faces multiple charges, including three counts of grand larceny and three counts of felony arson, police said.

It started about 2 a.m. when a white male suspect stole a 2007 Toyota Corolla from a Sheetz store on West King Street and went south on Viking Way. Deputies then received a call about a car being on fire on Needmore Road and learned it was the stolen Toyota, the release said.

While deputies were waiting for fire crews to arrive, they received a call from a house about a half mile away where a man said a man had just stolen his Honda Civic out of his driveway.

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Deputies received a call from a house on Palmer Road stating that a car was in a ditch and was fully engulfed in flames. Deputies responded and realized it was the Honda Civic that had been stolen.

While deputies searched the area for the suspect, they received a call about a 1998 Ford Explorer which had crashed in the 700 block of Tuscarora Pike and was on fire.

Police determined that the vehicle had been stolen from a home on Oleander Drive near Palmer Road, the release said.

Deputies later spotted a blue Dodge Dakota pickup truck traveling east on Apple Harvest Drive at a high rate of speed, the release said. Deputy S. Myers located the truck still heading east on Apple Harvest Drive, traveling more than 100 mph, the release said. The truck had been stolen from a house on Norman Silver Road in Back Creek Valley.

The truck nearly crashed while making a left turn onto Poor House Road, the release said.

Myers pursued the truck down Poor House Road but later stopped the chase due to public safety concerns.

Deputies responded to Fire Tower Road and found the truck and discovered that someone attempted to set it on fire.